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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Query Round Up and Wishlist--post by Gemma

Happy New Year!

The beginning of 2013 marks just over three months since
I joined the Bent Agency. It’s been an exciting time, and I have to say I’ve
been impressed with the quality of my submissions. I rarely get queries for
genres I don’t represent, and most people remember to paste in the first ten
pages (or at least resend them immediately as instructed by my auto-response). I’m
lucky to have found my submissions a fun place to dive into!

At a recent conference, I was asked how I approached my
query inbox. I joked that I creep up on it slowly so as not to frighten it
away, while all the time thinking what a great topic for a blog post that
question would be.

How I read my queries

I go through queries from oldest to newest, and usually
check the inbox for half hour or hour at the beginning or end of the day. I read all queries myself, and usually the
same way - I glance at the genre and age range, skim read the plot/blurb/synopsis
part, and then head to the pages. From reading these, I make one of three
decisions.

1) Pass – the pages didn’t grab me enough and I wouldn’t
be the right agent to represent it.

2) Request – I loved the pages and after reading the
query more thoroughly, I also loved the concept. I only request fulls when I am
serious about reading the whole manuscript.

3) Maybe – I set these aside to come back to.

The maybe pile is the hardest one to make a judgement on. As I mentioned, I don’t
arbitrarily request fulls as I know how much anticipation and excitement this
request gives a writer. I want to ensure I really want to read the whole manuscript
before sending that email.

The maybe pile helps me with this. When I’m reading
queries, sometimes a submission can stand out as good because I’m comparing it
to a run of things that are really not right for me. However, when I look at it
fresh, I can make a better judgement. I have offered on things in my maybe
pile, so it’s not necessarily a bad place to be. With fresh eyes, I can often
think, ‘man, I wish I’d asked for this last night so I could read the next
chapter now!’

The types of things I’ve been requesting

·YA historical with great voice – my most
requested genre·Literary MG – again, I’ve requested a few of
these. ·Diverse MG in a paranormal/fantasy setting,
where the plot isn’t at all about diversity·YA with a psychological bent, or a clever
twist·YA retelling that feels fresh·YA Sci-Fi with boy POV·Gross-out chapter book/younger
fiction·Animal-based chapter book series·YA contemporary romance

What I have signed

I have signed a fantastic young fiction (8+)
with series potential - set in a Roald Dahl type world of not quite normal,
with a strong voice and amazing cast of characters.

I am also seriously considering a YA
historical murder/mystery that has Agatha Christie elements with a Downton Abbey feel.

What is still on my wish list

I wrote ablog post just before Christmas about
my favourite books of 2012 and a very detailed wish list.

Key things to take from this are:

·Boy POV – still very keen on this, but
tending more towards MG at the moment. Character driven or action/adventure.
Funny or high suspense. Please keep sending.

·Books that make me cry. I‘d love more heartwarming
stories that genuinely get under my skin.

·A YA romance. I want to fall in
love!

·Still on the historical kick, so
keep them coming. Any age, but I do prefer them to have a diary-type feel, so
generally 1st POV.

·Any sort of mystery/crime for YA
or MG, please!

You can send me children's or YA submissions to cooperqueries@thebentagency.com with your title and genre in the subject line, and your first 10 pages pasted under your query letter. Submissions guidelines can be found here. I'm really looking forward to seeing what 2013
has to offer. Happy to answer any questions in the comments.

5 comments:

Hi Ms. Cooper. Thank you for such an insightful post for your wishlist. I do have two questions.

I queried another agent in your agency and received her response today. Can I still query you? But based on your wishlist, it would be a different manuscript.

Ques. 2 - My Ya mystery/crime is historical, about a girl accused of murdering her father and must figure out why it was her father who implicated her for the murder. Would this be something interesting for you?

I hope this doesn't sound like a pitch, but I don't want to query you if it's not acceptable because my last query to a fellow agent or it's something you wouldn't even consider.

It's nice to see specifics :) (Though I know it is hard for agents to be specific, since it often boils down to what feels right at the time). Best of wishes to you in 2013 that you find everything you're looking for!

Thank you for giving us such clear and useful feedback. It is so hard to get into the mind of an agent when you've never been one or worked at an agency. The rejections are so normal that I have learned to turn them off but I know when I believe in a character and a book and this post reminds me why it's important to send many queries out. Do you ever consider self-published work? Or is that sudden death.

Hi Rachel - Thank you for your comment. I'm happy to look at self-published work. It's good to have some sales numbers in the query and reasons for going down this route before contacting me about the book.